


I Think That I’m Living (if you could call that living)

by TrickrTreason



Category: Angry Video Game Nerd (Web Series), Board James, That Guy with the Glasses/Channel Awesome
Genre: Ghosts, Hurt and comfort, M/M, everyone is softer than in canon let me have this, mild unreality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:48:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21584809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrickrTreason/pseuds/TrickrTreason
Summary: A peaceful night playing board games, two love struck ghosts and one angry nerd, talk about a Full House the board game (released by Tiger Games)
Relationships: Angry Video Game Nerd/Nostalgia Critic, Board James/Bad Luck Bootsy, implied
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	I Think That I’m Living (if you could call that living)

It was a dark stormy night, but, as dark and stormy nights were, James didn’t mind this one so much.Curled up in a blanket on the floor of his childhood home playing board games with Bootsy and just relaxing.   
  


Still. Something felt different, like he was missing something, something that he couldn’t shake, the feeling only getting stronger with each illuminating crack of lighting.

  
It was so persistent, it burned like electricity through his veins, it choked like rope around his neck, it got into his head and made reality feel like it was dripping away, his eyes melting out of their sockets and dripping down onto the cardboard and plastic before him, and oh god he can’t see the game pieces anymore, he ruined it, it’s all ruined, it’s all- 

“Hey, hey James, you feeling alright?” Bootsy asked, voice soft and comforting as ever. For such a klutz, his voice had a calming musical effect on James, and his mind was instantly brought back to the present. The storm quieted to gentle rain pattering on the roof, his eyesight focused on Bootsy’s face, his gentle smile. James felt like he could breathe again. 

“Yeah, yeah I’m alright I was just,” he looked out the window at the house next door, eerily dark and empty. “-thinking about stuff.” Bootsy smiled and chuckled good naturedly. 

“Well what’er you doing that for? It’s your turn.” James couldn’t help but return the smile and reach for the dice before he heard footsteps coming from the hallway leading into the living room. 

“Board James what the fucking shit are you doing here?” a voice hissed, whisper yelling as to not disturb someone. It was the Nerd, standing in the hallway wearing a ratty pair of pjamas, well, no rattier than any other pair of pjamas James remembers him wearing. James shrunk down and gave his brother a sheepish grin. 

“Just playin’ a board game,” he replied bashfully. The Nerd rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest like a mother dealing with a particularly difficult child. 

“You can’t be here Board James, I have a guest and he’d shit his fucking rectum out if he saw you out here.” James frowned, his eyebrows furrowing at what his brother said. 

“Hey! I fucking live here too jackass!” he yelled, not caring about a guest or Bootsy or causing a scene. He saw the Nerd’s face go visibly pale. 

“Lived, James. Past tense. I don’t think you do much living these days,” he said softly, sympathy painting his features. 

Oh, that’s what he was forgetting.

He looked over at Bootsy and saw the dark purple bruise around his throat, the rope burns. He looked down at his own arms, electricity scars running up and down them, and in a crack of lightning, it was all gone again. 

“Oh,” he said quietly, voice threatening to break before plastering a fake smile directed towards Bootsy. 

“Whaddya think of that, Bootsy? We’re dead! Dead dead dead dead dead-“ Bootsy grabbed James’ wrist, breaking his trail of words. His touch was gentle against James but firm, grounding. He uncharacteristically pursed his lips and nodded. 

“I know, I remember,” he said solemnly, looking directly into James’ watery eyes, only to have the other man break away, looking down at the soft carpeting instead. Looking at anything that wasn’t sincerity, that wasn’t love. He sat at his brother’s feet. 

“Please Nerd, can’t we just stay the night,” James said softly, voice warbling with held back tears. “We’ll be quiet I swear, just please, one night.” 

The Nerd bit his lower lip, looked back down the darkened hallway where his guest was, back to the ghosts sitting in his living room, Bootsy whispering comforting phrases to his little brother, form shifting and melting like he was hit by the Glitch Goblin, his shoulders were shaking up and down and they were saying words the Nerd couldn’t hear, or didn’t want to hear, and maybe that was for the best. He sighed. 

“Yeah, yeah you guys can stay,” he said softly. “Your room is how you left it James, I- I never managed to clean it out.” James tilted his head towards his brother and stood on shaking legs like a newborn deer. He reached out his arms and collapsed into the Nerd, drawing out a soft ‘oomph’ from the other man. The Nerd slowly wrapped his arms around James, he felt inhuman, like his body was only made solid by thin strands of static electricity woven together. He patted his back once, twice, in a firm comforting way. 

“Alright, alright, clean up your shit and go to bed, its late,” he said, trying to mimic exasperation in his voice, maybe hoping it would draw a smile out of James. Instead he simply slunk out of the hug like an abandoned dog and looked over to Bootsy. 

“Can you pick up the game pieces and I’ll lead you to my bedroom,” he said, no command in his voice but Bootsy followed his orders all the same. 

“Can-surely-do, bud,” he said, sweeping the pieces haphazardly into the box and stuffing the board and lid on top. James knew he’d have to go back and put all those pieces back in their proper place later, but right now he really didn’t have the energy for it. He watched Bootsy carefully tuck the board game under one arm and he reached back to him, content in not moving until Bootsy’s hand was comfortably wrapped around his own, leading him away. 

“G’night, Nerd,” Bootsy called cheerfully down the hall, and the Nerd watched as they both slowly flickered in and out of existence, the door opening and closing by some unholy force. 

“Take good care of him,” he muttered under his breath before turning slowly to his own bedroom, greeted inside by his living, breathing, and snoring guest, muttering something about a bat credit card. The Nerd smiled to himself and curled back up under the covers, and fell into a thankfully dreamless sleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhhh! Thank you so much for reading. This fandom is minuscule and I hope to add more fics like this to it in the future


End file.
